Audit critical of state athletic commission

Published: Saturday, December 8, 2012 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, December 7, 2012 at 8:06 p.m.

MONTGOMERY | The first audit of the new Alabama Athletic Commission revealed a number and instances of noncompliance, the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts said Friday.

Findings include untimely deposits of receipts, “a condition that unnecessarily increases the risk of loss or misuse of state funds,” the audit said.

The audit said that a sample of 19 payments was checked.

“Deposit times for the 19 payments ranged from 15 weekdays to 101 weekdays,” the audit said. “The average amount of time from receipt to deposit for the sample was 54 days.”

The commission issued a permit or license six times to applicants who did not pay the correct fee and there was no record of showing underpayment, the audit said. Overpayments were credited against future license fees but should have been refunded, the audit said.

The law creating an Alabama Boxing Commission was passed in 2009 after Tuscaloosa amateur boxer Deontay Wilder’s medal win in the 2008 Olympics.

Wilder turned pro, creating a need for a commission to schedule sanctioned fights in Alabama. The commission’s name was changed in 2010 to the Alabama Athletic Commission and mixed martial arts fighting was added to the regulations.

The audit said that a sample of 11 licenses included six that did not have documentation that requirements had been met.

The commission also did not always comply with notice requirements of the Alabama Open Meetings Act, the audit said, and the commission did not ensure that licensees were U.S. citizens or were lawfully present in the U.S.

“The commission shall issue a license under this section only if the applicant is a citizen of the United States or, if not a citizen of the United States, a person who is legally present in the United States with appropriate documentation from the federal government,” the audit said.

“The commission has taken no action to determine if its licensees comply with this requirement,” it said.

The audit covered Oct. 1, 2009, to Sept. 30, 2011. During the audit period, the executive director was Keith Warren. Warren, who is no longer the executive director, could not be reached for comment.

<p>MONTGOMERY | The first audit of the new Alabama Athletic Commission revealed a number and instances of noncompliance, the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts said Friday.</p><p>Findings include untimely deposits of receipts, “a condition that unnecessarily increases the risk of loss or misuse of state funds,” the audit said.</p><p>The audit said that a sample of 19 payments was checked.</p><p>“Deposit times for the 19 payments ranged from 15 weekdays to 101 weekdays,” the audit said. “The average amount of time from receipt to deposit for the sample was 54 days.”</p><p>The commission issued a permit or license six times to applicants who did not pay the correct fee and there was no record of showing underpayment, the audit said. Overpayments were credited against future license fees but should have been refunded, the audit said.</p><p>The law creating an Alabama Boxing Commission was passed in 2009 after Tuscaloosa amateur boxer Deontay Wilder's medal win in the 2008 Olympics.</p><p>Wilder turned pro, creating a need for a commission to schedule sanctioned fights in Alabama. The commission's name was changed in 2010 to the Alabama Athletic Commission and mixed martial arts fighting was added to the regulations.</p><p>The audit said that a sample of 11 licenses included six that did not have documentation that requirements had been met.</p><p>The commission also did not always comply with notice requirements of the Alabama Open Meetings Act, the audit said, and the commission did not ensure that licensees were U.S. citizens or were lawfully present in the U.S.</p><p>“The commission shall issue a license under this section only if the applicant is a citizen of the United States or, if not a citizen of the United States, a person who is legally present in the United States with appropriate documentation from the federal government,” the audit said.</p><p>“The commission has taken no action to determine if its licensees comply with this requirement,” it said.</p><p>The audit covered Oct. 1, 2009, to Sept. 30, 2011. During the audit period, the executive director was Keith Warren. Warren, who is no longer the executive director, could not be reached for comment.</p><p>Commission member Casey Sears had no comment.</p>